


what doesn't kill me, makes me vicious

by smutpeddler



Series: Sunshine and Bruises [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M, Pre-Romance, fluff if ya squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-05
Updated: 2019-03-05
Packaged: 2019-11-12 03:32:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18003017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smutpeddler/pseuds/smutpeddler
Summary: only the first one is ever truly free





	what doesn't kill me, makes me vicious

**Author's Note:**

> hey guys. so work has evened out and me and my guy have finally moved into our new place. so hopefully i'll be back to posting regularly.

They’re sitting in his room, her cross legged on his bed, him on a chair across the room, both with a beer and a smoke. He’s never been this close to her before or maybe he hadn’t really looked. There’s dark circles under her eyes, she looks exhausted, her body slumps, almost disappearing in the long sleeved shirt and overalls. It’s like looking in one of the mirrors on the board walk, it’s like seeing himself. Exactly the same and completely different.

“He’s not my boyfriend, not for a long time,” she finally speaks after stubbing out her cigarette and taking a long gulp from the can, “He wasn’t actually ever really my boyfriend. Just some guy I used to screw so I wasn’t lonely,” and she laughs. Somehow she laughs.

Something almost like a smile splits his face, he wouldn’t know what a smile feels like. More so, he can’t remember, “Look at you. Veronica Whelan trying to solve her problems with fucking. I’m surprised.”

“You’d be the only one,” chugging down the rest of the beer, “There’s no way you haven’t heard some of the shit they say.”

“No one who wears that much holiday shit gets laid,” tossing her another, “Especially not as much as they say you do.”

“Well, you’d be the only one who thinks that,” shrugging her shoulders and popping the tab.

It was his turn to shrug, “I don’t really give a fuck what people have to say. It’s all bullshit anyways. Everyone blows and the world sucks.”

“Can’t believe anyone gets naked for that kinda shit,” she mumbles into the beer before swallowing more down.

His response is a quick wink and smirk, “I don’t use my mouth for a whole lotta talking,” watching her almost spit her beer out, “Prude. No way any of that shit they say is true.”

“It used to be,” as if somehow it was a defense, as self deprecating as it was it didn’t make him believe her, “Then mom ran off with her dealer, dad turned into a drunk and burned the house down, and my brother had to come home from his amazingly perfect life to take care of me,” there’s no self pity in her voice, it was almost as if she was listing what classes she was in, “Felt kinda rude to slut around after all that, ya know?”

His laugh is deep, real, she wasn’t anything like he had thought. Not some perfect, happy, Disney princess come to torment him. She’d just given up, stepped out of the ring and let life do whatever crappy thing it was going to do next.

“Rude to be a slut? Never crossed my mind. I’m pretty pro-slut,” it surprises him that she smiles, everything happening surprises him.

It’s the longest he’s ever had a girl in his room without taking their clothes off. He hadn’t even made a move. He thinks about that junkie’s hand on her arm, it’s the last thing she needed after something like that.

“My brother should be home soon. He’ll take care of Cassidy,” she gulps down almost the whole beer as she stands to her feet, “I should get home.”

“I’ll drive you,” making a move to stand, she pushes hard on his chest sending him back into the chair.

“Only the first ones free. After that, no one does anything nice without expecting pay back,” pulling open his door, “See ya around, Billy,” and she was gone. Just like that.


End file.
